Ted Cruz jabs Donald Trump at rally in Irvine

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz enters a standing room only ballroom to an enthusiastic crowd for a rally at the Irvine Hotel on Monday. MICHAEL GOULDING, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 23

Pat Ellis of San Clemente shows off a Ted Cruz t'shirt she just bought before a Cruz rally at the Irvine Hotel on Monday. MICHAEL GOULDING, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 23

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz has a face-to-face with nine-month-old Johnny Penir after a rally at the Irvine Hotel on Monday. MICHAEL GOULDING, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 23

A technical difficulty kept an image of the American flag from being displayed on a big screen for the Star Spangled Banner, so on Cruz supporter provided hers for the moment at the Irvine Hotel on Monday. MICHAEL GOULDING, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 23

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz takes pictures with some of his supporters after a rally at the Irvine Hotel on Monday. MICHAEL GOULDING, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 23

A Ted Cruz supporter listens as the presidential candidate speaks to a packed ballroom at the Irvine Hotel on Monday. JEFF GRITCHEN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz enters the ballroom for a rally at the Irvine Hotel on Monday. MICHAEL GOULDING, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 23

Supporters pray before a rally for Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Republican presidential hopeful, at the Irvine Hotel on Monday. MICHAEL GOULDING, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 23

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz speaks in a standing room only ballroom to an enthusiastic crowd at a rally at the Irvine Hotel on Monday. MICHAEL GOULDING, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 23

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz has his picture taken nine-month-old Johnny Penir of Murrieta while his mom, Sheri Penir holds him after a Cruz rally at the Irvine Hotel on Monday. MICHAEL GOULDING, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 23

Adi Mitchell got her license plate signed at a rally for Ted Cruz at the Irvine Hotel on Monday. MICHAEL GOULDING, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

With an eye on California's June Republican primary, presidential candidate Ted Cruz packed an Irvine ballroom with ardent supporters Monday and promised to lead the country to "morning in America again."

The Texas senator listed a litany of woes he sees plaguing the country, including stagnant wages, abuse of the Constitution, Obamacare and student debt.

“I am here with words of hope and encouragement,” Cruz said at the Hotel Irvine event. “People are waking up and help is on the way....It's going to be California that leads the way.”

Cruz has been surging in recent primaries, increasing the possibility that frontrunner Donald Trump will fall short of the 1,237 delegate majority necessary to secure the nomination before the July convention in Cleveland.

California, with 172 delegates, is becoming crucial to the GOP candidates. If nobody reaches the required delegate majority, it could open the door for someone other than Trump to be nominated at the convention.

“It's easy to talk about making America great again,” Cruz said in one of several jabs at Trump. “The real question is whether you understand the principles and ideals that made America great in the first place.”

The crowd, estimated by the Cruz campaign at about 1,000 people, repeatedly interrupted the candidate with applause and chants of “Cruz. Cruz. Cruz.”

“I've heard a lot of it before,” said Jane Carpenter, 57, of Huntington Beach. “But seeing it in person, you feel the energy run through the room. There's a lot of enthusiasm.”

Cruz traveled to San Diego for another rally after the Irvine visit and has been organizing in California for months. Trump has yet to establish a campaign presence here and Ohio Gov. John Kasich has just recently begun hiring staff in the state.

His Orange County stop found him invoking perhaps the state’s most famous politician, Ronald Reagan, including the slight variation on Reagan’s optimistic “morning in American” campaign theme. But it wasn’t all kind words for the state, with Cruz leveling criticism of its big government approach.

“You’ve got this government that thinks the formula for prosperity is more taxes and more regulations that hammer small businesses,” he said.

While Cruz ticked off a tally of what he said was wrong with the country, Democrats holding a conference call prior to the Irvine rally had a list of what they see as wrong with Cruz. Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, attacked Cruz for his record on women‘s rights, his call for patrols in Muslim neighborhoods and his plan to reverse President Barack Obama’s amnesty for students brought illegally into the country by their parents.

“The fact of the matter is his priorities are completely out-of-touch with the people of my district, out of touch with the people of California and far to the right of the vast majority of Americans,“ Peters said. “The best example of that is the government shutdown – the only thing Cruz has accomplished in Congress – that cost our economy $24 billion in economic activity.”

Peters’ statistic comes from a Standard & Poor’s estimate produced the day the two-week federal government shutdown ended in 2013. Subsequent studies have said that at least some of that money was eventually returned to the economy.

But there was no shortage of praise for Cruz at the Hotel Irvine.

“He represents the discontent that exists in the country,“ said John Barnewall, a retired air traffic controller from Yorba Linda. “He’s consistent, he believes in the Constitution and he doesn’t pander to the crowd.“

Barnewall was less critical of frontrunner Trump than several others at the event.

“He’s scary,” said Olga Reznik, a Russian emigrant and U.S. citizen living in San Clemente. “We don’t need a strong leader like Putin. You see how that’s going in Russia. We need to perfect the institution (of government). Cruz is a leader. I know he’ll do his best to work with people.“

Cruz dismissed Trump’s recent complaints about the delegate selection process as “yelling and screaming and probably some cursing and whining.“ Rally goer Linda Cone said the eventual nominee, whoever that is, will leave some GOP faction angry.

“Regardless of what the Republican Party does at the convention, it’s going to be highly problematic,“ said the retired Yorba Linda teacher and Cruz backer.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.